The Union government has announced 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the facsimile editions of foreign newspapers, provided the investment is held directly by the owners of original publication.
According to the new FDI norms for facsimile editions issued by the commerce ministry on Wednesday, the policy for FDI in publication of facsimile edition of foreign newspapers include permitting 100 per cent FDI with prior approval of the government for the publication of the facsimile edition, provided the FDI is by the owner of the original foreign newspaper whose facsimile edition is proposed to be brought out in India.
The policy also specifies that the publication can be undertaken only by an entity incorporated or registered in India under the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956. Moreover, the publication would be subject to the guidelines for publication of newspapers and periodicals dealing with news and current affairs and publication of facsimile edition of foreign newspapers issued by the ministry of information and broadcasting on March 31, 2006, as amended from time to time.
The policy for foreign investment in publication of Indian editions of foreign magazines dealing with news and current affairs includes, up to 26 per cent of foreign investment, inclusive of FDI and investment by NRIs/ PIOs/ FIIs; for these guidelines shall be defined as a periodical publication, brought out on a non-daily basis, containing public news or comments on public news, an official release said. Foreign investment shall be subject to the guidelines for publication of Indian editions of foreign magazines dealing with news and current affairs issued by the ministry of information and broadcasting on December 4, 2008.
Not a single such edition could start operations during the past two years since a policy of facsimile edition of international newspapers was brought out by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Last week, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) cleared the proposal of US-based Dow Jones to start the facsimile edition of its newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, in India.
Before the norms on facsimile editions were announced in June, 2005, only International Herald Tribune (IHT) was available in the country as a facsimile edition through its tie-up with the Deccan Chronicle group. However, IHT’s publishers did not pursue its publications once the new norms came into effect.
